Kotatable top stove



Dec. 1, 1936. c EHRET v 2,062,870

ROTATABLE TOP STOVE Original Filed Sept. 8, 1953 INVENTOR. Heme/1f fhref ATTORNEY.

Patented Dec. 1, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Original application September 8, 1933, Serial No. 688,575. Divided and this application February 26, 1935, Serial No. 8,238

3 Claims.

This application is a division of my former application, Serial No. 688,575, filed Sept. 8, 1933, which on May 21, 1935 matured into Patent No. 2,001,714, the present application being directed to gravity actuated rotatable stove tops.

The accompanying drawing illustrates one practical embodiment of the invention, but the construction therein shown is to be understood as illustrative, only, and not as defining the limits of the invention.

The figure shows a central vertical section of a stove embodying the present invention wherein the whole stove top is rotatable.

The stove of the present invention may be of conventional shape, or may be of any suitable shape or design and may utilize any suitable fuel, such as gas, coal, electricity, oil or the like, but, for the purpose of illustration, I have shown in the accompanying drawing the present invention as applied to a gas stove.

I have shown this gas stove as comprising a body I of substantially conventional form supported on legs 2 and having an oven 3. The oven is adapted to be heated from a burner 4 fed from any suitable source of fuel supply through an appropriate control valve forming no part of this invention. Burners 5 of conventional form are employed for cooking on the top of the stove and these are fed in the usual manner through control cocks 6 from a manifold l. The parts thus far described may be wholly conventional and I make no claim for this structure except insofar as it is used in conjunction with the top of the stove which embodies the present invention.

The top of the stove is designated 8. It may be in the form of one or more sheet metal stampings or of a casting or of a combination of both and is provided around its outer margin with a depending skirt 9. On the inner side of this skirt are mounted a plurality of anti-friction rollers ID adapted to travel in a runway or guide formed by two angle members It and I2 preferably secured by means of bolts [3 to the upper part of the stove body, so as to be rigid therewith but readily removable therefrom to facilitate assembling or dismantling of the parts. The rollers l operating in the guides II and I2, as shown, mount the stove top for rotation on the body of the stove. That portion of the stove top which overlies the burners may be in the form of grids or may be made solid with pot holes with or without lids as may be desired. This is optional in the manufacture. However, the part 8 is preferably in the form of a ring having a depending flange l4.

Extending vertically through the stove body is a length of tubing 15 which is held rigidly in place in any suitable manner as by means of nuts I t screwed upon this tubing. The upper end of the'tubing extends abovethe top of the stove body and into proximity with the top member 8 and attached to the top member 8 above the tubing is a flexible cable H. The cable I1 is led downwardly through the tube i5, given one or more turns about the drum l8 and then passed about a roller 31 of a weight 38 and thence carried upwardly and secured to a bracket 39 which serves to support one end of a governor spindle ill. The other end of the governor spindle is supported by a bracket 4| and the outer face of this bracket has a friction surface 42 cooperating with the friction member 43 of the governor sleeve with which is associated a conventional ball governor M. The governor 2! may be of any approved type, but is here shown as embodying a pair of weights 23 pivoted to a hub 24 and normally drawn inwardly by means of springs 2'5. the tension of which is adjustable by adjusting screws 26. The weights 23 are adapted to cooperate with a friction lining 21 secured to the 5 interior of the housing and as the speed of the spindle increases sufliciently to overcome the tension of the springs 25, the weights are thrown outwardly by centrifugal force and bear against the friction lining to brake the spindle.

The parts are so arranged that when in the position shown, the stove top will be at rest with the point of attachment of the cable I! to said top directly above the upper end of the tube 15. This is the normal position of rest of the top. A portion of the cable will at this time be wound upon the drum I8, while the weight will be lowered. Now, if the cook desires to have access to a pot at the back of the stove, she grasps any portion of the top 8 or skirt 9 and rotates the top in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction to bring directly before her the pot in question. If desired, the top may be provided with a circular ring extending beyond the skirt 9 and forming a convenient handle for rotating the top, 45 but I have not thought it necessary to show this independent means. In the manner stated, the top may be rotated to bring the 'pot into the desired position and during this movement of the top, the cable I 1 will be drawn upwardly through the tube and fed out from the top theref so as to wind about the flange I4.

As the cable is fed out as stated, it will rotate the drum l8 and raise the weight, so that when the top is released, the weight will tend to rewind the cable and return the top to its initial position. In so doing, however, it will actuate the governor which will function in the usual manner as a speed governor and thus control the speed of rotation of the top in its return movement.

A marked advantage of the structure is that the stove top may be rotated in either direction through any number of angular degrees depending upon the length of the cable. In any event, when it is released, it will immediately return at a regulated speed to its initial position of rest. As a result, pots may be placed on the stove in proper relationship to the particular burners and these burners may be adjusted to suit requirements of the pots individually. Thereafter the top may be rotated for temporary convenient access to any one pot, but as soon as the top is released, it will return automatically and will, with complete accuracy, replace the pots in their initial positions over their respective burners.

The rotatable portion may consist of the entire top of the stove or a lesser part thereof. In any event, the rotatable part is mounted to be readily rotatable and to carry therewith pots mounted thereon.

Furthermore, different forms of governor may be employed within the spirit of this invention, and, accordingly, I do not limit the invention to the exact mechanism shown.

Moreover, I have particularly chosen to show the present invention in connection with a stove of substantially conventional form and utilizing gas as a fuel, but I wish it understood that the invention may be associated with stoves of radically difierent shape than the conventional form shown and employing other fuels than gas.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A stove comprising a stove body, a rotatable top portion, antifriction means for rotatably mounting said rotatable top portion on the stove body, a relatively fixed cable guide, a cable connected with the rotatable top portion and passing over the guide, a weight imposed on said cable beyond the guide to normally maintain the rotatable top in a definite position of rest and to permit the rotatable top portion to be rotated away from said position of rest, but operable to return the rotatable top portion to said position of rest when the latter is released.

2. A stove comprising a stove body, a rotatable top portion, antifriction means for rotatably mounting said rotatable top portion on the stove body, a relatively fixed cable guide, a'cable connected with the rotatable top portion and passing over the guide, a weight imposed on said cable beyond the guide to normally maintain the rotatable top in a definite position of rest and to permit the rotatable top portion to be rotated away from said position of rest, but operable to return the rotatable top portion to said position of rest when the latter is released, and a speed governor operatively connected with the cable to control the speed of such return movement.

3. A stove comprising a rotatable top portion having a substantially cylindrical coaxial section rotatable therewith, a cable secured to said substantially cylindrical section to be wrapped about the same as the rotatable top portion is rotated, a guide for the cable, and gravity controlled means cooperating with said cable to yieldably maintain the same under tension and to permit the rotatable top portion to be rotated.

CLEMENT EI-IRET. 

